Smile Forever
by Camerine
Summary: His father said, ”I'm proud of you, son,” and little John smiled for days.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters. I do, however, own th story told in this.

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**Smile Forever**

"We wants to hear a story, Colonel Sheppard!" the little boy piped up, his little green eyes sparkling and his tiny pink lips smiling. John sighed and sat down on the floor; they all crowded around him, ears perked to listen and eyes concentrated on the man in front of them.

"What kind of story?"

"Perhaps one that they will understand," suggested Teyla from the other side of the room. John sent her a smirk then turned back to the Athosian children.

"Ignore her." Then, leaning closer, he whispered, "She's a _girl_."

All the boys began giggling and Teyla rolled her eyes. The little boy, Dominic, that had asked for the story, climbed into John's lap and sat there, looking perfectly content as John ruffled his dusty brown hair.

"We wants to hear about _you_ Colonel Sheppard!" Dominic informed him.

John nodded.

"Cool. Well, once upon a time, there was a little boy named John Sheppard. He was only seven years old-"

"I'm seven," one of the little boys, Rase, broke in, smiling, as he held up seven fingers. John held a finger to his lips, and Dominic copied him, then giggled silently as he leaned back on John's chest and stuck his fingers in his mouth; he couldn't have been older than three. His bare feet kicked back and forth and he was grinning widely.

"As I was saying, little John was only seven years old when his dad first let him fly an _airplane_." Before a million questions could be fired at him, John explained, "An airplane is a ... flying ship, much like the Puddle Jumpers, but it has two wings sprouting from the sides—" John gently took hold of Dominic's arms and held them out to the side. "—and when you're up in the air flying at a hundred miles an hour, the wings keep you balanced."

Dominic's arms fell back to his side as John finished explaining. Most of the children looked content with the explanation, but a few still looked confused.

"When little John got into the airplane, he got to sit on his father's lap, and his father even let him take control of the airplane. With close supervision, of course. But little John flew through the air nicely, and when they exited the plane, his father lifted him up into the air and swung him around. When both of his feet were on the ground again, his father gave him a hug and told little John that he was proud of him. Now, John's father had never told him that before, so when he told that to the little boy, John smiled for days."

John paused and leaned over, whispering something into Dominic's ear. The little boy giggled and grinned and then said loudly,

"And little John flew forever!"

John laughed.

"Close enough, little buddy. But from then on, whenever little John could possibly go out and fly with his father, he would. And every time he did well, his father told him the same thing: "I'm proud of you, son." And little John would always smile for days. And then, when he got home, he would tell his mom everything that had happened."

Another pause, in which one of the boys asked,

"What next?"

"Well, after that, little John began to grow up. When he was twelve, he could fly his father's private airplane without anyone else in the cockpit, although his father amost never let him do that. It was soon after his thirteenth birthday that something really exciting happened to him."

"What?" Dominic asked, wide-eyed.

"He was flying on his own, and he got in a _lot_ of trouble for this later, but he crashed his father's plane."

A chorus of "oooh's" filled the room and Teyla felt herself smiling from where she stood against the wall with Halling, watching all the little boys staring at John with such concentration that it was both cute and funny.

"And as bad luck would have it, he crashed in the middle of an Island. See, John's family lived close to the sea, and there was a secret Island that John's father would take him to. He loved it there. Anyway, he was flying to it, and he crashed. The plane was totaled."

This earned him a few weird looks.

"When he crashed, John was thrown from the pilot's seat, and then it blew up!"

Loud explosion demonstrations filled the room and while a couple kids looked slightly frightened, most of them laughed.

"John went as far away from the plane as he could after he had taken what was still useful."

"How did he eat?"

"Well, he used a sharp piece of metal from the airplane and tied it to a stick. Then he-"

"John," Teyla warned, realizing that he was about to explain in great detail how the John from his story had killed and cooked the 'food' he had eaten.

"Right. Sorry, Teyla."

He cast her another smirk then turned back to the kids.

"John was found eventually, but until he was, he had to live off what he could find. And when he got back home, it was a while before his dad let him back in an airplane. See, his dad was very mad that John had beaten the hell-"

"John."

"Right. Sorry, Teyla."

The kids giggled and John gave them all a weird look.

"As I was saying, John's dad was mad that he had crashed the airplane. But John soon found out that it wasn't because the plane needed replacing—his dad could replace it easily. It was because John hadn't flown the airplane right that his dad was mad. Until that day, he'd never messed up while flying."

"Did he stop bein' mad?" Dominic asked, looking up into John's eyes, his own little green ones filled with wonder.

"Yes he did. When John finally got back into an airplane, his dad was with him the whole time. And do you know what he said when they had finished flying?"

"Nuh uh," Rase said, shaking his head. Several other little kids shook their heads, too, but Dominic nodded.

"What did he say, Dominic?" John asked.

"I'm proud of you, son."

John was smiling brightly as he nodded.

"Yeah. That was what his father said. And John smiled for days."

"Is that the end of the story?" Rase asked, pouting. John nodded, reaching out and messing up his hair. Rase smiled, showing off his missing teeth.

"Yes, it is. But tomorrow, I can tell you the story of how that damn-"

"_John!_"

"Right. Sorry, Teyla."

All the kids were laughing at him now, pointing their little fingers at him. He reached out and gently nipped on one of the fingers pointing in his general direction; the boy, Micah, giggled harder. Soon, everyone had gotten all of the laughter out of their systems and were sitting up again.

"As I was saying, tomorrow, I can tell you the story of how the _stupid_—" John made sure to look pointedly at Teyla. "—paintball fight somehow ended with little John hanging on a tree by the back of his shirt."

"Paint ball?" Rase asked.

"Ah ... well, on Earth, we have these toy guns that shoot out balls of paint—a slimy, colored substance that ... colors things—onto people."

"Ooh! Can I have one?" Micah piped up.

"No. Now, off to bed with ya all."

All the little boys jumped up and were herded out of the room by John, Halling and Teyla. They were soon in their own quarters, each having said a long goodbye to the story man.

Soon, all that remained were Dominic, who would be dropped off last, Jinto, the two older men, and Teyla.

"You didn't really crash on an Island, did you?" she asked curiously. John grinned.

"Nope. I did crash my father's plane, but it was in the parking lot of an empty air base, so it was no big deal. But the rest of it was true."

"It ... sounds like you had fun as a child." A smile graced her lips as John picked Dominic up and hoisted the small boy onto his shoulders.

John shrugged. "Guess so. I guess I have my dad to thank for bringing me here, in Atlantis, and where I an today."

Teyla looked at him curiously, but it was Halling who asked the question.

"Why?"

"The only reason I ever loved flying so much—and flying General O'Neill to the Antarctic base was how I got involved with the Atlantis mission in the first place—was because I was always striving for my father's acceptance, and the only way I could do that was by learning what he held so dear–to fly."

Teyla paused as they reached her quarters; she was about to go inside.

"Then I thank your father, too." She gave him one last smile as she disappeared inside her room. He grinned, too, as they walked on.

John, Jinto, Halling and little Dominic walked in silence for a few more seconds before Dominic added, patting John's messy black hair down on his head, "I'm proud of you."

John laughed loudly as he smiled.

"Well, Dominic, I'm proud of you, too."

And the little boy smiled for days.

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What do you think? I'm thinking of making this a collection of John telling the Athosian children stories; what do _you_ want? If people want me to, I might!

_**Please Review! **(Pretty please?)_


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